Okay, so
every time the subject of Adric comes up, I may or may not mention that Adric
is, shall we say, not my favorite
companion. But 1) I’m a sucker for completism, and 2) aggravating or not, Adric
does have his moments. So here we are: five instances where Adric made good
(spoilers.)
Distracting the Guards (Series 19, Episode 1 –
“Castrovalva: Episode 1”)
Right
after the Fourth Doctor regenerates into Five, team TARDIS is set upon by
guards from the Pharos Institute. An ambulance is called for the
barely-conscious Doctor, and the guards apprehend and frisk the companions.
Adric, awesomely, gripes, “I thought the whole point of this Pharos Project of
yours was to track down alien intelligences. We thought we’d save you the
trouble and come to you!” He then mesmerizes the guards with talk of E-space,
giving Tegan time to steal the ambulance and drive away with Nyssa and the
Doctor, where they can safely return to the TARDIS.
Finding the Way Out of Castrovalva (Series 19,
Episode 4 – “Castrovalva: Episode 4”)
Because
the Master creates the trap of Castrovalva using Adric’s Block Transfer
Computations, Adric is the only one who can still make sense of it when it
starts collapsing without his calculations to sustain. As the others are baffled
by the disintegrating world growing even more M.C. Escher-y than usual, Adric
spots signs of reality peeking through and leads his friends safely out of it.
Protecting the Doctor (Series 19, Episode 8 –
“Four to Doomsday: Episode 4”)
This is
an instance of Adric using his penchant for aligning himself with the bad guys
to everyone’s advantage. At this point, he’s been more than a little seduced by
Monarch’s flattery and promises of power, and he’s eschewed his friends’
attempts to find out what the Urbankans are really up to. However, when the
Doctor gets himself into trouble (as usual) and Persuasion orders him executed,
Adric stands between the Doctor and the gun, warning Monarch that he won’t
cooperate if the Doctor is harmed. Falling in with Monarch may have
demonstrated Adric’s poor judge of character, but he risks that position of
relative favor and safety to protect the Doctor.
Playing Dumb (Series 19, Episode 14 – “The
Visitation: Episode 2”)
Okay, so
this is a solid tag-team with Tegan, but let’s face it: not being a smug know-it-all has to be pretty tough for Adric, so
he gets major points for this little misadventure. When Adric and Tegan are
captured by the Tereleptils, they both feign ignorance during the
interrogation. Tegan gets the best lines, but like I said, this can’t be easy
for Adric, and he plays his role well, scoffing at the idea that the Doctor is
an alien and generally resisting the urge to prove he knows all the answers.
Disarming the Bomb (Series 19, Episode 20 –
“Earthshock: Episode 2”)
Technically,
the Doctor is the one who does most of the actual disarming of the Cybermen’s
booby-trap bomb here, while Adric assists. But what’s important about this
moment is the fact that Adric is present at all. The Doctor has urged everyone
back for their own safety in case the bomb goes off, but Adric stays at his
side. For someone who’s generally focused on his own well-being above all,
that’s a big step, especially considering that Adric had a major argument with
the Doctor at the start of the serial. Even though neither is the other’s
favorite person right now, Adric risks death to help the Doctor stop the bomb.
Good comments but there are far more Adric hero moments than just these and some are outstanding.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. Like I said, I'm not a huge Adric fan, but he does have moments that I like and I wanted to give him his due. What are some of your favorites?
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